JOHOR BARU, Aug 9 — A 23-year-old burger stall proprietor, who was alleged to have inserted an electronic vape device in the mouth of a baby girl last weekend, has been remanded for five days to assist police investigations.
The remand order, starting today against the male suspect, was issued by Magistrate R. Salini at the Johor Baru Magistrate's Court.
The suspect will be investigated under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 that deals with neglect and exposing a child to danger to cause physical or emotional injury.
Prior to that, the suspect sporting a black t-shirt and jeans was escorted by policemen to the court’s entrance at 9am.
Yesterday, it was reported that a man was arrested by police after a video where he is said to have playfully placed his vaping device into the mouth of a baby made its rounds on social media.
A team from the Johor Baru Utara Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested the suspect at 12.45pm after a report was lodged by the baby’s mother last Saturday.
The alleged incident happened at a restaurant in Bandar Baru Uda here last Saturday.
The baby girl’s mother had lodged the complaint after the video recording of the suspect putting a vape device in her seven-month-old baby’s mouth became viral. The complainant had earlier received criticism on social media for the man’s irresponsible actions.
Initial investigations revealed that the suspect was in fact a friend of the complainant’s younger sister and was at the restaurant during the incident.
According to the police, the suspect had suddenly held the baby and playfully put his non-functioning vape device into her mouth.
The complainant’s sister then recorded the moment and uploaded it to her social media account. However, shortly after that, the recording received criticisms from viewers.
Vaping among children, especially babies, is dangerous as most electronic cigarettes and vape devices contain nicotine, which permanently damages a baby’s developing brain.
The vaping liquids also contain chemicals, flavours and other additives that might not be safe for a baby.
